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BBC Sports Personality of the year

Upper Batley High School were thrilled to welcome Marcellus Baz to their school on Tuesday 8th February, 2017. Marcellus was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the year ‘Unsung Hero’ award and he appeared on live television speaking about the power of his motivational work with young people to transform their futures and their life chances.

Marcellus and Nathan, a member of his team from Switch Up, Nottingham, spoke to the boys at Upper Batley about how high aspirations and hard work ensure you reach your goals. Marcellus outlined to boys the power of self belief and self-motivation. He spoke about how he had a difficult background himself and was involved with gang culture, drugs and a life of crime until he discovered boxing and found people who genuinely cared about him and his future. Marcellus now works with a wide range of young people to educate them on the importance of a good education to shape a better future for yourself and for your families’ future.

Marcellus has also travelled around the world and led inspirational sessions in America, Brazil and Denmark to name just a few countries.

Upper Batley High School were delighted that Marcellus and his team chose their school to visit and he has recognised the journey the school has been on over the past few years to transform academic standards and improve the life chances of their young men. Upper Batley High School is rated as a Beacon School (Northern Powerhouse Report) for the excellent progress their learners make.

Headteacher Ms Vickers said “We are thrilled that Marcellus and his team chose to visit our school and he delivered a very powerful and motivational talk to our boys. There are a great many challenges facing young people these days and it is imperative that they have the right inbuilt moral compass which helps then make positive choices, and make choices which ensure they achieve the best education to ensure a bright and successful future ahead of them. We are very proud of our boys and their achievements and when someone with a national, and in fact international profile, recognises this it really helps to build the confidence of our boys. We believe in a growth mind sets ethos and regularly say to our boys ‘believe and you will achieve’ . Marcellus helped to consolidate that message and the Batley Buzz was evident during his visit. He was so impressed by our young men that he has offered to maintain an ongoing link with us in the future. “